Big Business to Hire More High School Graduates

Korea's top four conglomerates, Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK and LG are increasing the number of new recruits with only a high school diploma every year, hiring 20,000 of them this year.

Samsung hired 700 high school graduates through open recruitment for the first time this year. Previously the group employed high school graduates based on the recommendation of school principals mostly for production line jobs. The total number of high school graduates hired by the firm rose 14 percent on-year to 9,100 this year.

SK Group plans to hire 7,000 new recruits, the most in its history, this year. Of them, 2,100 or 30 percent will have only high school diplomas, more than double last year's 1,000.

According to the Federation of Korean Industries, the country's top 30 companies are expected to hire a combined 41,000 people with a high school diploma this year, up from 37,000 in 2011.